Aon nears $4.5 billion sale of benefits outsourcing unit

Insurance broker Aon Plc is in advanced talks to sell its employee benefits outsourcing unit to buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC for nearly $4.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The divestiture would undo much of Aon’s 2010 acquisition of human resources services provider Hewitt Associates Inc for $4.9 billion, signaling that the company now wants to focus more on its insurance and risk management businesses.

After submitting an offer earlier this month, CD&R has prevailed over private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) in an auction for the unit, the sources said. The sources cautioned that negotiations were ongoing and that the outcome could still change.

CD&R operating partner and former SunGard Data Systems Inc chief executive officer Russell Fradin, who was Aon Hewitt’s CEO from 2006 to 2011, is playing a key role in drafting a plan on how the unit can be separated from Aon, the sources said.

The unit for sale facilitates the processing of claims for companies, including defined benefit, defined contribution, and health and welfare administrative services.

Aon hopes to announce a deal by Feb. 10, when it plans to report fourth-quarter earnings, the sources said.

Read the full story at Reuters: Exclusive: Aon nears $4.5 billion sale of benefits outsourcing unit – sources | Reuters